Athletic foul automatic indicator



Aug. 13, 1963 E. R. .JACKSON ATHLETIC FOUL AUTOMATIC INDICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 28. 1961 Aug. 13, 1963 E. R. JACKSON ATHLETIC FOUL AUTOMATIC INDICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 28, 1961 United States Patent() aieaerz ATIRETIC FOUL AUTOMATIC INDICATGR Earl R. Jackson, 1851 Lomita Ave., Stockton, Calif. Filed Aug. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 134,807 Claims. (Cl. 116-114) athletes approach is extremely rapid and :many trials are made which often are very difficult for the oicial to ljudgefair or foul.

The prime object of kmy invention is to design a sturdy and compact device which can be easily -attached to the far side of the take-oit board and automatically indicates by oscillation of wings any contact made on the device.

Another object is to design a device which will automatically indicate fouls, thus eliminating the human factor in judging these events.

A further object is to design `a foul indicator for any athletic event Where the effort is made behind a straight scratch line.

A still further object is to design a device which in open athletic fields the external parts can quickly be removed and the housing boxes padlocked to prevent tampering with the internal mechanism.

`Anotherobject of the invention is to reduce lfouling by thearrangement and contrasting color of the exterior parts of my indicator which thereby gives a clear cut delineation of the foul line.

Still another object of this invention is to glamourize the jump events, thus enhancing athlete and spectator interest.

A further object of the instant invention is theprovision of means to instantaneously indicate to the spectators whether the trial is fair or foul.

With the above objects in View, this invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more 4fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and` more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportions, and minor details of construction, without departinglfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is "a plan View, partially'broken away for illustrative clarity, of my athletic foul automatic indicator showing the body, housing box, partial contents and wing assemblies, the broken lines representing the olicial take-off board.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged 4transverse cross-sectional View taken on thelne 2-2of FIGURE 1 showing portions of the device in the setfposition.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged transverse cross-sectional view `taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. l showing oscillation ofthe wings.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional View taken on line 4 4 of FIG.l 1 showing the internal mechanism and foul-board.

-FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary transverse cross-sectional View showingthe foulboard in locked position.

. ice

FIGURE Vl0 is an end view showing hasp with the latch rotated.

FIGURE l1 is an elevated view` showing the hasp and padlock.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying p drawings in which Ithave shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the letter B indicates an elongated boxlike 'oody comprising a door orbase 1, rectangular ends 2 andside walls .3. Theftop or foul-board Hits snugly inside three upper `edges of `the body, the far sidewall being recessed at 5 the .thickness of the foul-board as shown in FIGURE 2.

The foul-board-4 is composed of a metal plate 6 which gives rigidity, screwed by means 7 to a board 8 which is bevelled Iat'9 along the upper far edge to prevent the athlete from tripping. `The above foul-board-iconstruction readily allows replacement .of the board 8 -when ,the same is worn by shoe spikes. Underneath `the metal plate 6fn1idwayat each end is welded at right angles a plate 1G perorated -at 11 to receivel the end of the locking plate |`12, described later.

Within the ybody B 4alongeach sidewall 3 a board .13 on edge, vthe same height as the far side wall is secured tothe base by screws 14. It is clearly shown in FIGURE Zthat these sideboards 13 and thefarside wall-3 limit the depression ofthe foul-board 4. Near each .end and in the middle of said side boards 13, holes 15 contain springs 16 which press the foul-board 4 upwards.

The L lever 17 oscillates on a pin 18 secured to the side board 13. This lever 17 is pin-connected at 19 Vto arod 20 which passes through .an aperture in the end -wall 2. Holes21 .in the base 1 allow any water to escape.

Turning to the wing assemblies W-1 refers -to the smaller and W-.Z .to the larger Wing. Wings W-l and W-Zare welded .at right `angles to Veach other, to sleeve rings 22 which oscillate on a rod 23. At the farend the rod 23 is welded .to a right angled plate or bracket 24 hooked ZSunderneath a plate.26 attached at right angles on top` of brace 27 a continuation of the far side -Wall 3 ofthe hous- ,ing box H. A pin 28 through the above plates holds the rod 23 in a stable position. A chain (not shown) attached tothe bracket 24 and pin 28 prevents loss of -the latter. A

pin 29 near sleeve ring 22 keeps `the wings from slipping The latch 31 has a'hole 34 into which the rod 23 slips,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view showing the means FIGURE 7 is an enlarged elevational View showing the detachable wing assembly and supporting brace.

FIGURE 8 shows an exploded View of the attachment of the wing assembly tosaid brace.

FIGURE 9 isanend view ofthe wing assembly show- `ing the supporting latch.

the center of said ,rod beingin exact line with the far edge of thefoul-board 4. The latch 31in contact with the housing 'H side-wall 3, passing througha slot inthe housing/lid 35 is lockedlin position when the housinglidis closed and when the latter is openedmay be rotated-down inside as shown in FIGURE 10.

The near side of the Wing W-Z is painted white and all other visible part-s ofthe device a distinctive color-such as fluorescent orange rgive the athlete a clear ycut delineation of the vfoul-line. On both sides of W-l is painted in black the .Word-Foul and on W-2, Fair, OLK., rorthe like (not indicated in the drawings). The plug 36 on the wing W-1 holds said wing horizontal as does the plug 37 on W-2 when the .wings are oscillated. They also act as shock absorbers.

. over the pin 46 of the trigger 4-7. This arrangement allows said trigger 47 to be disconnected and rotated down inside amaai/a y The trigger 47 pin-connected atltS near the base i and normally urged in a counterclockwise direction about spring means'49, passes through a slot in the lid 35 the notch 50 holding down the wing W-l which is slotted at 51. Note 1EIGURE 1. Spring 49 also pulls on the connecting lrod keeping the L lever 17 constantly in contact with the base 6 of the foul-board 4. Y

A peg 52 is attached to the base 1 surrounded `by a detachable spring 53 which presses a plunger 54, which passes through the lid 35, against the wing W-l with sufcient force to raise said wing to a vertical position when the trigger 47 is released. With the lid 35 open, spring S3 may berremoved, allowing plunger 54 to drop flush with the lid 35.

lAnother method of spring-pressing wing W-l is by spring 30 FIGURE 7. Both ends of the spring are turned at right angles, one end entered in a hole drilled in sleeve ring 22, the other end in bracket 24. Before inserting pin 28 twist bracket 24 in the direction wing W-l turns.

A large pin 12 passes through end walls 38 and 2 into the aperture 11 Where the pin is reduced to 1/2 round 55 ,limiting the rise of the'foul-board d above the plane of the take-olf board T as shown in FIG. 2. This raised feature plus the distinctive contrasting color of the -joul board 4 :clearly marks the foul line. The latter when depressed may be locked down when pin 56 is turned 180. Washers 57 and cotter pins 58 on pin 12 prevent its lateral movement.

In operation the far side wall 3 of the body B is lagscrewed :at 59 to the near side of the installed take-off plank T and pegs P driven into the ground, the Itop edges of the body B lying in the plane of the upper surface of the take-off plank T. When the athlete makes a fair jump from T no action takes place in the device, the vertical wings VW--Z indicating Fair, Oli., or the like. If any part of the athletes shoe projects over the scratch-line, the foul-board 4 is depressed which trips the triggers 47 releasing the horizontal wings W-l, spring-pressed, instantaneously rise to a vertical position indicating Foul. The wings are quickly reset with one hand.

It will thus be apparent that l have designed a simple and durable -athletic :foul automatic indicator which can be inexpensively manufactured, and which lends itself to p use in several -athletic events.

JWhat I claim is:

v1. An automatic foul line indicator for designating the` violation of a foul line `comprising a take-oit board having an upper surface and having `an edge substantially coin* cident with said foul line, a foul board having two ends, an upper surface, a lower surface and an edge substan- :tially iiushwith said edgeof-said take-oilc board, means normally urging said foul board in an upward direction to raise said upper surface of said foul board slightly above stantially vertical plane coincident with said foul line,

lever means responsive to ardepression of said foul board to release said trigger means and spring-tensioned means to pivot said indicator wings about said rod and sleeve means when said trigger means isV released so that said other wing is in a substantially horizontal plane and said one wing extends upwardly in a substantially vertical plane.

2. An automatic foul line indicator in accordance with cla-im l wherein said foul board comprises an upper A wooden member detachably secured to a lower metallic member.

3. An automatic foul line indi-cator in accordance with claim 1 wherein a housing is provided :adjacent one Vend of said foul board beneath said pair of indicator wings,

' said housing having a hinged lid 1with means dening claim 3 wherein said rod and sleeve means is detachably supported above saidghousing.

5. An automatic foul line indicator in accordance with claim l wherein said trigger means includes a trigger member having two ends, one end of Said trigger member being pivotally supported within said housing, the other vend of said trigger member being notched and engageabie over said one -wing when said one wing is in said substantially horizontal plane and spring means fixed to said trigger member intermediate said ends to normally urge said notched end into, engaging contactwith said one- 6. An automatic foul line indicator in accordance with claim 1 lwherein means are provided for limiting upward movement of said foul board, said means comprising a plate secured to, and depending from, said lower surface of said foul board, means dening an opening in said plate, a rotatably supported pin having an end portion extending through said opening, said end portion having a flat diametrical surface and ahalf-round circumferential suriace Vand means to rotate said pin to selectively engage said at surface and said half-round surface with said means defining said opening in said plate.

7. An automatic foul line indicator in accor-dance with claim 1 wherein an elongated ybox-like body is provided 4below said foul board, said body having an open upper end communicating with said bottom surface of said foul board and wherein said lever means comprises an Lshaped lever pivotally supported within said body, a portion of said lever in `Contact with said bottom surface of said foul board, a connectingA rod having two ends, one end of said connecting rod piv-otally secured to `said lever at a point remote from said portion and the other end of said connecting rod detachably and pivotally secured to said trigger means.

8. An automatic foul line indicator in accordance with claim 7 wherein means are provided within said body limiting downward movementlof said foul board.

9. An automatic foul line indicator in accordance with claim l wherein afpair of indicator wings xed at right angles to each other is provided adjacent each end of said foul board, rod and sleeve means pivotally supporting each of said pairs of wings about the vertex of said right angles, Itrigger means normally maintaining one of each of said pairs of indicator wings .in a substantially horizontal plane while'the other of each of said pairs of wings extend upwardly in a substantially vertical plane coincident with said foul line, lever means responsive to a deplane and said one wing of each of said pairs extends Y upwardly in a substantially vertical plane.

l0. An automatic foul line indicator in accordance with claim 1 wherein at least al1 the visible parts of said indicator are of a bright color and said one wing is of a color which distinguishes therefrom.

1,059,211 Rishebegar et al. Apr. 15, 1913 

1. AN AUTOMATIC FOUL LINE INDICATOR FOR DESIGNATING THE VIOLATION OF A FOUL LINE COMPRISING A TAKE-OFF BOARD HAVING AN UPPER SURFACE AND HAVING AN EDGE SUBSTANTIALLY COINCIDENT WITH SAID FOUL LINE, A FOUL BOARD HAVING TWO ENDS, AN UPPER SURFACE, A LOWER SURFACE AND AN EDGE SUBSTANTIALLY FLUSH WITH SAID EDGE OF SAID TAKE-OFF BOARD, MEANS NORMALLY URGING SAID FOUL BOARD IN AN UPWARD DIRECTION TO RAISE SAID UPPER SURFACE OF SAID FOUL BOARD SLIGHTLY ABOVE SAID UPPER SURFACE OF SAID TAKE-OFF BOARD, A PAIR OF INDICATOR WINGS FIXED AT RIGHT ANGLES TO EACH OTHER ADJACENT AT LEAST ONE END OF SAID FOUL BOARD, ROD AND SLEEVE MEANS PIVOTALLY SUPPORTING SAID PAIR OF WINGS ABOUT THE VERTEX OF SAID RIGHT ANGLE, TRIGGER MEANS NORMALLY MAINTAINING ONE OF SAID INDICATOR WINGS IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE WHILE THE OTHER OF SAID WINGS EXTENDS UPWARDLY IN A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL PLANE COINCIDENT WITH SAID FOUL LINE, LEVER MEANS RESPONSIVE TO A DEPRESSION OF SAID FOUL BOARD TO RELEASE SAID TRIGGER MEANS AND SPRING-TENSIONED MEANS TO PIVOT SAID INDICATOR WINGS ABOUT SAID ROD AND SLEEVE MEANS WHEN SAID TRIGGER MEANS IS RELEASED SO THAT SAID OTHER WING IS IN A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE AND SAID ONE WING EXTENDS UPWARDLY IN A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL PLANE. 